A Profile of South Asia at Work
T
his chapter profiles employment in South Asia. Relying on household survey data from the region’s eight countries, it describes the patterns of participation, employment, unemployment, and earnings in the region. Describing the labor market in South Asia is a formidable task. The region’s eight countries vary widely in size, ranging from less than 1 million people each in Bhutan and Maldives to 1.2 billion people—about three-quarters of South Asia’s population—in India. There is diversity in the stages of development, economic structures, social and cultural characteristics, and conflict. Even within countries there is significant diversity. The profile of South Asia at work presented is based primarily on microlevel data collected by national statistical agencies. The analysis relies on labor force surveys in some countries and on living standards surveys in others (depending on survey availability and data quality). The latest surveys were conducted between 2004 and 2009/10 (see appendix table A.1). Two caveats should be noted regarding analysis across countries. First, there are limits to the standardization that is possible, especially between labor force and living standards surveys. In countries that
3
conduct labor force surveys (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), measurement of labor market indicators such as labor force participation, employment, and unemployment is common and generally consistent with international standards. In countries in which other household surveys are used (Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Maldives), definitions of these (and other) indicators can differ from international norms. As a result, measurement differences explain some of the variation across countries presented in this chapter (Srinivasan 2010 discusses in further detail how labor market concepts are measured in different surveys). (Annex table 3A.1 provides more detail on the measurement of employment and unemployment from the national surveys as used in this book.) Second, as South Asian economies are still heavily rural, agricultural, and informal, the productive activities of many individuals may not be fully captured by standard labor market indicators. This chapter is organized as follows. The first section provides an overview of the main labor market trends, including employment, unemployment, and labor force participation, for the eight countries in South Asia, with a focus on the employment and participation patterns of women. The second 85
MBJSA_84-123.indd 85
1/31/12 11:54:04 AM